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According to African scholars, for instance, the mention of Namibia should’ve evoked profound shame and remorse among Germans and Americans.

Not only is it now widely acknowledged the first genocide of the 20th century was committed by German colonial forces in their near-extermination of the Herero nation in modern-day Namibia, but Lt.-Gen. Lothar von Trotha’s “annihilation order” was repeated by other European powers, the U.S. doing the same to its own Indigenous tribes and in Latin America and the Pacific. What’s more, they were convinced that such peoples were “all alike.”1

Later in the same century, historians point to how U.S. policies in Africa were similar to von Trotha’s “rivers of blood” and “mass orgy of killing,” but not as harsh.

In addition to aiding South Africa’s ill-fated invasion of Namibia, which killed thousands and uprooted entire villages to eradicate a guerilla movement (SWAPO), its border with Angola made it a staging ground for U.S. covert operations.